Review: Shiloh Run Press, The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins #hsreviews #glasscastle #jerryjenkins

We read The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins from Shiloh Run Press as a family read aloud during our recent road trip. 

This book was most enjoyed by my almost 10 year old son.  I would say the age range for this book would be Middle School (5th – 8th grade), though most certainly could be enjoyed by older children and adults as well.  The reading level is on par with 5th – 8th grade, however.

This is a suspenseful book with a lot of mystery as well.  Be aware this is the first in a series, and A LOT of questions are left unanswered at the end.  (This was a very frustrating factor for my husband). 

The story starts out about a 13 year old girl named Avery and her brother, both of whom are kid napped by an old lady in the woods.  Avery is separated from her brother and taken to a castle.  There are a lot of 13 year olds living in this castle, all of which are orphans, except Avery.  They must live quietly in the castle, behind the scenes, so that no adults know they are there.  They do all the work in the castle, such as baking, mending, mail reading, etc… for the king that lives there.  The king is soon to be wed to a woman, whom is not very nice. 

As Avery learns her way around the castle she realizes she knows this place.  She grew up hearing stories about this exact place, from her mother.  She also discovers that the necklace she was given from her mother is the same necklace the former queen is wearing in a picture she finds.  These are just a few of the mysteries that begin to unravel during the story.

She tries to find out why she is there, where her brother is, what her mother’s connection to the castle is, why is she the only one there that is not an orphan (or is she?), who is the old lady that kidnapped her, and more…

Slowly we learn with Avery some of the answers to the mystery, however, many things are still left unanswered at the end of the book, which leaves you in wait for the next book.  The Ruby Moon will be available October 2016. 

My son’s favorite part of the book is a scene where they play human chess.  This part of the book inspired him to create a large chess board and make large chess pieces to play.  He also was disappointed at the end of the book, exclaiming, “That’s it??”  I loved that he was so enthralled, and understand his frustration.  (I often wait until an entire series is out before reading even the first book). 

This is definitely a book that keeps you wondering, and as a result turning pages!  I’m interested to see what happens in the next book.

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